Cruise Phase: Week 8

Cruise Phase:

Week 8

Tuesday 7th May - Sunday 12th May

Well hello again. So this is the final week, until I hit the second month of the diet and the race to hit two stone is onnnn! Now this week I've gone back to the regular alternation between PP and PV days. I'm also starting the week from Tuesday, as I barely ate anything on Monday when travelling back from London. So let's see how it's gone...

Tuesday 7th May - PV

Breakfast: Cinnamon Chocolate Oat Bran Porridge

At last! I have finally added a new dimension to the monotony that is cinnamon oat bran porridge! All I did was add a heaped teaspoon of cocoa powder to the porridge once it was cooked and mixed really well. And this is the result:

Day 59: Breakfast

And it was beautiful! Tasted like I was eating a really naughty thick hot chocolate pudding. Seriously recommend it to those who like a bit of choccy heaven in the morning for breakfast!

Lunch: Homemade Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

Day 59: Lunch

This was absolutely bursting with flavour! Sooo tasty. Now, I adapted it from a recipe I found online however I added my own extra spices and flavourings according to what I like, such as chilli powder, garlic etc, so I will put down the recipe details but I do advise you adapt it to your own taste and liking too. You could even put in some tasty pieces of bacon if you wanted to meat it up.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

500g ripe tomatoes - any kind (I used cherry tomatoes but I think those really sweet piccolo tomatoes would work lovely too)

500g red bell peppers

1 medium sized onion

A dash of extra virgin olive oil (I used the spray)

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of dried oregano (I didn't have any - and I think basil would work well too)

1 1/2 cups of vegetable or chicken stock (I used chicken)

Extra spices, herbs and/or meat - your meal, your choice :)

Wash the peppers and tomatoes thoroughly and slice into wedges. Bake in the oven at approximately 200 degrees celcius until thoroughly roasted (about 30 minutes). Meanwhile, slice the onions and garlic and saute in the bottom of a soup pot with a dash of oil until soft. Add your spices/herbs. Once roasted, add the tomatoes and peppers to the pot and stir all the ingredients together. Pour on the stock and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Blend the soup to the consistency you prefer (feel free to add more stock to the mix). Taste and add extra seasoning if needed. Serve immediately.

Note: I didn't have any at the time but you could dollop some fat free fromage frais or creme fraiche on top of the soup.

ENJOY!

Snack: Celery Sticks Topped with Extra Light Cream Cheese with Chives and Chilli Powder

Day 59: Snack

Now I usually HATE celery sticks, but this was absolutely DELICIOUS! Really moreish and totally satisfying. Try it, honestly.

Dinner: Denver Steak in Pepper Jus with Mushrooms and a Yellow Pepper and Onion Mix

Day 59: Dinner

Never had denver steak before. It was really tasty but quite fatty so wouldn't recommend that specific cut of beef. All in all though, with the lovely pepper jus I made it was a really nice meal.

Wednesday 8th May - PP

Breakfast: Cinnamon Chocolate Oat Bran Porridge

Addicted already!!

Lunch: Tin of Tuna

Dinner: Seasoned Skinless Chicken Thighs

Unfortunately I don't have a photo for this, but they were generally the same kind of thing as I have had over the last week or so. Chicken on the bone is just that extra bit tastier!

Thursday 9th May - PV

Breakfast: Two Boiled Eggs with Yellow Pepper Soldiers

Day 61: Breakfast

Lunch: Smoked Salmon, Quark and Balsamic Salad

Day 61: Lunch

Dinner: Three Skinless Chicken Thighs with an Indian Spicy Omelette

Day 61: Dinner

The omelette is an indian inspired recipe, and is meant to be an omelette, but I just made a mistake and turned into a scramble at the last minute. I was not disappointed, it was spicy and tasty and didn't matter that it wasn't in omelette form! But if you fancy the omelette version, here's how to make it:

Ingredients (Serves 1)

2 eggs

Half a green chilli, de-seeded and chopped

Half a red onion, finely chopped (I used a yellow one)

1 spring onion, finely sliced (I missed this one out)

1 tablespoon of fresh coriander, chopped (I don't like coriander so I missed this out)

A pinch of garam masala

A pinch of turmeric

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper. Add the chilli, onion, coriander and spices and mix thoroughly. Lightly spray a pan and heat to medium. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and cook on each side for a few minutes. Serve immediately. Enjoy.

I finished off the meal with a lovely bowl of cinnamon chocolate oat bran porridge. Yum.

Friday 10th May - PP

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Ham Slices and Vanilla Yoghurt

Day 62: Lunch

Cheeky little lunch at Uni, whilst doing my work. Did the job so no complaints there!

Snack: Salmon and Quark Seasoned with Black Pepper and Lemon Juice

Dinner: Spicy Sesame Chicken with Fried Eggs

Day 62: Dinner

Mm mm mmmmm! Can't go wrong with this dish. The sesame seeds give the chicken that extra bite so you feel fuller for longer. Season the chicken with whatever you want and bake it in the oven for about 20 mins at 180-200 degrees celcius, and Bob's ya uncle!

Saturday 11th May - PV

Breakfast: Cinnamon Chocolate Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Ham and Chicken Slice Salad

Day 63: Lunch

Snack: Cucumber Slices, Tomatoes and Seafood Sticks

Dinner: La Stazione Restaurant!

So for the second time whilst on the diet, I am eating out. It is for a friends birthday, so no excuses really, plus on a PV day your choices are that little bit less limited than PP days. So let's see what I had and how I handled the situation!

Starter: Garlic and Chilli Prawns

Day 63: Starter

Now when I asked for this I specifically told the waiter that I did not want ANY OIL on the dish. All I wanted was a little bit of garlic and chilli, but it still came out very oily. I guess some places just don't get it even when you spell it out for them. So I just tried to eat it without eating too much of the oil. Was delicious regardless but you just have to be careful. If I was with family I would have sent it back but I think with friends you just want to get on with it!

Main: Rare Fillet Steak with Asparagus and Seasonal Vegetables

Day 63: Main

Now this, phhwoooar, this was divine! I wasn't initially going to go for steak, but in a nice restaurant you really can't go wrong with it. Again I asked for no sauce, for the steak to be grilled and for the vegetables to be steamed and this time they were successful in providing that....HOORAY! The steak was cooked to perfection and the only thing I left was the green beans which the rest of the table had no problem hoovering up for me ;)

Great end to a lovely meal.

Sunday 12th May - PP

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Ham and Chicken Quark Slices with Seafood Sticks and Boiled Eggs

Day 64: Lunch

Dinner: Simply Chicken Curry

Day 64: Dinner

Simple and tasteless. I don't know what I did differently but this wasn't as nice as the last curry's I've made. Maybe I didn't put in enough spices. Oh well. There you have it! Any suggestions as to how to make a delicious Dukan curry would be much appreciated...I'll be awaiting your comments eagerly!!! :)

I made up for it though by making a lovely Cinammon Hot Cocoa Drink....mmmmmm......

Day 64: Supper

I even sprinkled some more bits of cocoa powder on the top to make it that extra bit special ;)

So that's it for another week. And as Friday 10th marked the two month mark I weighed myself and I've bloody well gone and done it.....Lost 2 stone in 2 months :D Absolutely over the moon! So all I need to do now is work even harder to make sure that I shed the last stone off by next month but also that when that happens I will be toned and tight as well. So lots of gym, bootcamp, skinnypigs, jogging sessions to be had!!! And this will be my motto as I work my arse off.......

So, watch this space! Thanks for reading, and remember.....keep following :)

Kate :) x

Cruise Phase: Week 7

Cruise Phase:

Week 7

Monday 29th April - Sunday 5th May

Hello fellow bloggers!! So I hope last week's blog really gave you that bit extra confidence boost to help you keep going with your diet. Or if your not dieting, just a bit of motivation for achieving any personal goal or deadline you may have! This really has been a life-changing experience so far and it is really refreshing to train yourself to a new way of life. I've found that since losing the weight and changing my eating habits, I have so much more confidence; I'm wearing outfits that I would never have the guts to wear before (not because they are revealing or anything, but because they are a little bit different in style to what I'd usually wear), I'm talking to people more, being friendly and confident. It's just really brought a ray of sunshine into my life and it's such an amazing and infectious feeling that I'm becoming addicted to eating really well and exercising well and wearing what I want because I LIKE IT, not because other people like it. Anyway, enough rambling! This is the last full week until I hit the two month mark (10th May) so I'm really pushing to try make sure I have lost 2 stone and even more by the 10th, which is why I'm still doing the two day PP one day PV alternation. So for the food:

Monday 29th April - PV

Breakfast: Boiled Eggs and Asparagus Wrapped in Ham

Day 51: Breakfast

The ham didn't wrap as well this time as it has done before but it was still simply divine. Messy food is better anyway :)

Lunch: Ham and Chicken Salad with Balsamic Tomatoes Topped with Cottage Cheese

Day 51: Lunch

The balsamic cottage cheese tomatoes were gorgeous. I always feel salad tomatoes crave a little bit of extra taste and what better seasoning to use than salt, black pepper, and balsamic. Sooo easy but it just makes that little bit of difference.

Snack: Vanilla Oat Bran Galette or in my words SWEET PANCAKE!

Day 51: Snack

So, admittedly I'm not really an oat bran galette kinda gal. However, last week when I went to a skinnypigs class, I got really dizzy and thought I was going to faint, and this was because I hadn't ate since lunch and I'd only ate a small salad. So tonight, for my boot camp class, I've made sure I've lined my stomach with a tummy filler. And oat bran is always good for being a tummy filler. But instead of just making a plain and very TASTELESS oat bran galette, I ventured out like the kitchen goddess I am becoming and added a few drops of vanilla extract, cinnamon and sweetener to the mixture, to make this a really sweet tasting 'pancake'!! And it was lush! Perfect little tummy filler which actually tasted nice. Oat bran doesn't have to be boring! Have a little go at experimenting with it. It'll take the monotony out of having to eat it as a chore.

Exercise: 45 minutes session at North East Bootcamp

This was really hard. But brilliant. Not for the faint hearted. And you do burpees until your weak at the knees. But nobody ever said it would be easy! GIVE IT A GO......they do a FREE one-week trial....check them out...

http://northeastbootcamp.co.uk/7-day-trial-registration

Dinner: Spicy Ginger Chicken Wrapped in Bacon with Balsamic Tomatoes

Day 51: Dinner

I know I have this kind of dinner a lot, but I'm just a sucker for spicy chicken and balsamic stuff. So sue me! I finished it off with a fat free vanilla yoghurt!

Tuesday 30th April - PP

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Cottage Cheese and Seafood Sticks

Dinner: Bacon, Onion and Garlic Scramble

Day 52: Dinner

Now this doesn't look all that appetizing, but believe you me, it was packed with flavour. But I do apologise for the atrocious presentation!

Wednesday 1st May - PP

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Tuna Cakes and Boiled Eggs

Day 53: Lunch

This meal is just so brilliant for filling you up, especially when your feeling really ravenous and just need a proper good stuffing! Delish!

Dinner: Simply Bacon Quiche

Day 53: Dinner

I'm a sucker for a good quiche! Lovely!

Thursday 2nd May - PV

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Warm Ham and Asparagus Salad with Onions and Garlic

Day 54: Lunch

This was gorgeous. I chopped up the asparagus and fried them with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil spray with the onions and garlic, so that they were nice and toasted but still had their crunch. YUM!

Dinner: Bacon on a Bed of Asparagus, Garlic, Onions and Tomatoes with Poached Eggs

Day 54: Dinner

OMG this was absolutely gorgeous, if I may say so myself!! I cooked the asparagus the same way as I did at lunch, and they were just gorgeous with the bacon, garlic and runny eggs. Lush.

Friday 3rd May - PP

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Ham and Quark Slices and Cottage Cheese with Chives and Seafood Sticks

Day 55: Lunch

Snack: Two Boiled Eggs

Dinner: Soy Beef with Onions, Garlic and Parsley

Day 55: Dinner

Saturday 4th May - PP

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Bacon Omelette and Seafood Sticks

Day 56: Lunch

Bit of a messy one! But tasty all in all.

Snack: Cottage Cheese with Chives

Dinner: Prawn Curry

Day 56: Dinner

Now this was nice and spicy, however the curry sauce was just a bit too watery. I used a recipe which advised me to use water, but from now on I think I'll just add loads of different spices to the prawns and then mix in a couple of tablespoons of plain yoghurt. You can only learn by your mistakes!

I finished off the meal with some of my beloved chocolate truffles....

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. :)

Sunday 5th May - PV

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

There's got to be a way I can mix this porridge up......hmmmm. I'll have a think.

Lunch: Tomatoes, Cucumber, and Carrot Sticks

I'm travelling down to London today so this is what's available in the travel lunchbox!

Dinner: Baked Seasoned Salmon with Broccoli

Now this meal marks a milestone. It is the first restaurant meal I have had whilst on this diet. To be honest, it wasn't difficult choosing from the menu. You pick the things that are boiled, roasted or grilled rather than pan-fried and you just make sure that you ask them not to add any oil, sauce or jus. And this is the result:

Day 57: Dinner

Me and my best friend/fellow dukaner shared this meal, and since you can't have green beans we left them and just ate the beautiful salmon and broccoli! Easy peasy! I think I've gotten over that evil restaurant barrier. You just have to think smart when ordering!

So that's it for the week. Apologies for not offering many new exciting recipes....I have had a bit of a hectic week finishing off my last piece of uni work. But I promise next week will be better.

This week I have lost a whopping 5lbs, bringing me to a total loss of 26lbs! So I think I should definitely hit the 2 stone mark by the 10th if not more! Get in!!!!

So that's it for another week. Until next time, here's another photo to keep you going....

Thanks for reading....and remember...keep following!

Thanks,

Kate :)

Cruise Phase: Week 6

Cruise Phase:

Week 6

Monday 22nd April - Sunday 28th April

And here we are again! These weeks seem to be flying by! I suppose that is a good thing since dieting is hard anyway. So this week I have been a little more strict with myself. The main reason for this is that last month I lost 15lbs altogether and this month I want to beat it. So, as the 2 month mark draws to a near I am pushing myself even harder. As a result I will not be alternating daily between PV (Protein and Veg) and PP (Pure Protein), I will do two days of PP and one day of PV and so on. I will start this mid-week so as not to overdo it as I plan to continue doing it through to the end of next week. I'm hoping this will give my body a bit more of a kick start, and I can lose more than I did last week, (which was 1 lb). I will also try to work out at least twice this week, as I haven't done that much exercise for a while. So without further ado:

Monday 22nd April - PP

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Thai Chicken Patties with Spicy Dip

Day 44: Lunch

I've got to admit, these look really good in the photo. And they were okay, but I just found them slightly dry. Maybe this was because I used leftover cooked chicken from yesterday. The spicy dip however, was delicious! Really added some moisture to the patties and is something that I will add to other dishes for that bit extra spice. What I would say to anyone is, just try it and see what you make of it. And if you find a different and more tastier way of making these, post a comment and teach me something for once ;)
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients (Serves 2)
For the chicken patties:
350g of cooked chicken (I would recommend you try using raw chicken (two large breasts) and cooking it first in stock beforehand)
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
1 small piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
Half a red onion, chopped (alternatively, you can also use spring onions)
4 tablespoons of fresh coriander 
For the spicy dip:
250g of 0% fat Greek yoghurt
2 tablespoons of fresh chives, chopped
1/2 tablespoon of crushed chillies
1/2 tablespoon of chilli powder
A splash of lemon juice
Salt and black pepper

Note: The ingredients can, and should, be adapted to meet your own taste :) ENJOY EXPERIMENTING!!

To make the dip, simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl then cover with cling film and keep refrigerated until time to dish up. 
To make the Thai patties, simply place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until they have all mixed together. Alternatively you can use a blender. Use your hand to shape the mixture into six small cakes. Lightly grease a non-stick pan, heat it up and gently cook the chicken patties until they start turning golden brown. Because the chicken is already cooked, they only need a few minutes on each side, just to bring all the flavours together. Serve with the dip.

Dinner: Basa & Prawn Chowder with Homemade Cheddar and Chive Bread

Day 44: Dinner

So today I had a real craving for bread. Something which hasn't been too much of an issue so far, but today I just couldn't get it out of my mind. So I decided to have a little search online for some Dukan bread related recipes (or substitutes) and found the above. With regards to the chowder, it was absolutely delicious! Full of gorgeous flavour, and such a refreshing change to the usual chicken dish. The recipe for the chowder was an adaptation of two different recipes found online; the ingredients were whatever was in my cupboard, and the amounts added were pure guess-timations based on what it tasted like! (I MADE SURE I KEPT TASTING IT CONSTANTLY AS I ADDED INGREDIENTS). Basic ingredients I added for pure taste which I DO recommend are....Fish sauce, Soy sauce, Seasoning (Salt, Pepper, Chilli Powder, Cumin, Turmeric), Herbs (Coriander, Chives), and since it's my PP day I used only garlic and onions, but you can use vegetables on PV days, however I prefer not too since I prefer a seafood chowder to just contain fish. But the possibilities are endless! The two different recipes I sort of adapted from were from these two websites:

http://thedukanway.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/anas-fish-stew/

http://mydukandiet.com/recipes/fish-stew.html

Hope this helps. Now for the cheddar and chive bread:

Mix these ingredients IN ORDER in a bowl:

1½ tablespoons fat free cream cheese, softened
1½ tablespoons fat free Greek yoghurt 
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped (if using dried, use about 1 teaspoon)
Salt & pepper to taste
2 whole eggs + 1 egg white
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons oat bran
1 3/4 tablespoons wheat bran
1/3 cup grated 5% hard cheese

Preheat oven to 350⁰. Line a small oven safe container with parchment paper or spray the container with extra virgin olive oil spray. Pour into the baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and top is nice and brown. Slice and enjoy! It’s unbelievable warm! Leftovers should go into the refrigerator.

Day 44: Dinner

Tuesday 23rd April - PV

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge & Egg Yolk, Mushroom and Cheese Omelette with Tinned Tomatoes

Day 45: Breakfast

This was really because I had an egg yolk leftover from yesterday when I made the bread. It always pays to save bits of leftover food! Really nice.

Lunch: Prawn Salad with Beetroot Crisps and Seafood Sticks

Day 45: Lunch

I found the beetroot crisps whilst shopping in Morrisons. They were placed on the same shelf as all the dried nuts and fruits etc. I thought I'd give them a try so I got a bag of them and a bag of carrot crisps. They were really tasty and crunchy, and they looked like this:

Day 45: Lunch

Perfect for snacking! 

Dinner: Leftover Chowder with added Tinned Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Seafood Sticks with Leftover Cheddar and Chive Bread

Day 45: Dinner

Tastes even better the next day!!

Wednesday 24th April - PP

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Cottage Cheese with Chives and Mussels

No photo for this sorry, was at Uni all day. I bought a pack of cooked mussels and mixed them in the cottage cheese. Finished it off with a vanilla yoghurt.

Dinner: Ginger, Chilli, Lemon and Lime Chicken Thighs with Balsamic Onions

For this meal I took the skin off the chicken thighs before seasoning them. I then put them all in a bowl and seasoned with garlic, ginger, chilli and chopped lemons and limes which I squeezed over the meat before dropping in the bowl. I left the chicken thighs to marinade at room temperature for half an hour before putting the whole lot, lemons/limes n'all into an oven proof dish and cooking for 35 minutes at 200 degrees celcius. 
This is how they came out....

Day 46: Dinner

Mmm lovely. I also made balsamic onions to go with it. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
A couple of sprays of extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped (your really supposed to use red onions but I only had yellow)
2 tablespoons of sweetener
A generous splash of balsamic vinegar
A generous squirt of balsamic glaze

Heat a pan with the oil spray. Add the onions and cook very slowly stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. Add the sweetener and allow to caramelise slightly. Add the balsamic vinegar and the balsamic glaze and cook for a further 10 minutes of until thick.

I finished off the meal with a tofu cream... And unfortunately it just wasn't as good as the last time I made them. I don't know if it has anything to do with how amazing the chocolate truffles are, but it lacked in chocolatey taste and the tofu was a bit lumpy. Hmmm I'll have to rethink this one if not scrap it. It does say you have to use soft silken tofu, but I can't seem to find it anywhere, only hard tofu. But I used hard tofu last time. Strange. Anyone who knows where I can find soft tofu, please leave a comment and let me know!

Day 46: Dessert

So today I received a lovely comment on Facebook from a girl I used to go to school with. She posted a print screen of a text from her mum. She commented saying: "Was showing my mum your blog last night as she's doing the Dukan again. Just received this text...think she's you're number one fan! Well done on all the hard effort x" And the photo...

This absolutely made my day. To think that my blog is inspiring fellow Dukaners to keep going, and stick to it, is just so rewarding. The reason I write this blog is to help others. It provides me with so much motivation knowing that people actually get some inspiration from the blog and it makes me go even further to make sure I try out more foods, and provide more recipe details on my blog so you can all try it for yourself with ease! Thank you so much for your support, Laura, and everyone else who is reading the blog each week, it's really keeping me going :)

Thursday 25th April - PP

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Tin of Tuna & Tofu Choc Cream

Exercise: 30 minute run

I did this with a fellow Dukaner, Marra and best friend :) we ran through Jesmond Dene, the sun was shining and we were smiling :) perfect. Go for a run with your mates. It's wicked man!

Dinner: Sweet & Spicy Bowl of Bones

Sounds awful but they were awesome. Chicken legs marinaded in chilli powder, sweetener, soy sauce, lemons, limes and garlic. A little similar to yesterday but if you haven't already guessed, I'm a bit low on shopping so for the past couple of days so it's been a bit of a freezer raid. The cooking process was the same as yesterday just with different(ish) spices.

Day 47: Dinner

Day 47: Dinner

Although I don't want to make this a regular thing, chicken on the bone is absolutely gorgeous, and a lot more succulent then chicken breast. Little treat! I finished it off with a tofu choc cream.

Friday 26th April - PV

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Tuna Salad with Carrot Crisps

Day 48: Lunch

Day 48: Lunch

Mmm the carrot crisps were lovely. Really sweet. Perfect little snack.

Exercise: Skinnypigs (1hour)

Wow, this company, is absolutely fantastic. You go to one of their many locations to find the room set out with circuit training stations. In partners you work through the stations over 30 second intervals taking turns doing the proposed exercise as many times as possible during the half minute (one runs on the spot while the other does the exercise, so both are always doing something). This class is not for the fainthearted, but my god, if you go there with an open, and prepared mind and body then you will absolutely reap the benefits. It's all about going at your own pace BUT YOU MUST NOT GIVE UP. Take it as easy as you need but keep it going. I highly recommend it. And if you 'like' the page on Facebook and message them telling them your interested in coming along for your first session you will get the session ABSOLUTELY FREE!! Here's the link the the Facebook page, go on I dare ya!

https://www.facebook.com/Skinnypigs.womens.fitness?ref=ts&fref=ts

Dinner: Bacon, Mushroom, Tomato, Tofu, Parsley and Cheese Quiche

Day 48: Dinner

I found this really hard to eat after exercising. I felt quite sick which I think is a result of not eating at least a little something before the exercise class, as it was such an intensive workout. I think next time I am doing this type of class I'll make sure I have something to line my stomach, like an oat bran galette.

Saturday 27th April - PP

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Garlic, Zest and Chilli Stuffed Chicken with Spices.

Day 49: Lunch

This was absolutely delicious. I do get a bit bored of chicken quite quickly so doing this really livened the chicken up and made it really moreish and a pleasure to eat. All I did was sear the breast in a pan then cut open the middle and put in garlic, the juice of a lemon and lime, some chilli, and some other spices like cumin. I also sprinkled the outside of the chicken with chilli powder. Then I popped it in the oven for about 15-20 mins and voila!

Now you will all know by now that I like to make my meals look appealing in photos by adding a pretty bit of garnish and placing the food in an attractive way. However, I make sure that whatever I garnish my meals with, I never waste them. So if I ever use lemons and limes to garnish, after the meal I will always make a cup of hot water and pop the lemons and limes in. It's a great way to use everything and also give your body a nice zesty flush!

Dinner: Beef Skirt (Rare) Covered in Peppercorns with Eggs and an Onion Mustard Pepper 'Crust'

Day 49: Dinner

This was tasty, but would have been even better with a steak fillet!

Sunday 28th April - PP

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Ham and Quark Slices with Cottage Cheese and Seafood Sticks

Day 50: Lunch

Dinner: Fish Chowder with Seafood Sticks

Day 50: Dinner

Day 50: Dinner

This was pretty much the same as the chowder made earlier this week however instead of regular basa I used smoked basa, which gave it that extra flavour. :) Lovely!

So this week I have lost 3lbs giving me a total loss of 21lbs altogether. A really brilliant result. However, I always feel like people never really truly respect and respond to weigh in results unless they really SEE the results. So, I'm going to be VERY brave, and show you some before and after photos for my weight loss so far...

I hope by doing this you will not only see how much weight I have lost, but I hope you will also find inspiration through my courage to show how big I was before, but also how I am not dwelling on the past, but using my past to look to the future and really give myself credit for how hard I have worked, and how much more I can achieve by carrying on and being strong. So without further ado, I give you an ongoing transformation of Miss Kate Smith, from the start of the diet to now at this point....

Now that was hard to do. But I'm glad I've shown you. Never look to the past, only the future. I just hope it inspires you enough to know that THIS DIET WORKS! As long as you put into it what you want to get out if it, then you'll have absolutely no problem. And following the diet to the absolute letter will only provide you with even better results. Keep up the good work fellow Dukaners... :)

So, until next week, here's some more motivation to keep you going.......

Thanks for reading :) and remember, keep following :D

Kate x